A/N: Just a little story idea that I had when I saw the eclipse celestial spirits arc. I hope you like it :)
After they were back from the stellar world the small group went back to the guild. Telling everyone about what had happened was exhausting and Levy excused herself after a while. The cold night air was refreshing and she wasn't surprised when she felt a present behind her after the first couple of steps she took away from the guild.
"I'll walk you home." A deep voice was heard from behind her and despite that it sounded more like a command than on offer she smiled softly at the dragon slayer, who was now walking next to her.
He might be gruffly and sometimes even a little bit awkward when he tried to hide how much he cared about the people who were close to him, but she found it charming.
"You don't have to." A grunt was his only reaction before they settled into comfortable silence.
Levy enjoyed the quiet of the evening, especially after the day they just had. A lot had happened and Levy looked thoughtful at the sky. It had been so strange to be on of the sky constellations that she saw daily in the night sky. However like always when Fairy Tail was involved, it had turned out alright, not lastly because of the strong man next to her.
"I'm glad that the stellar spirits are back to normal." She voiced her thoughts. "Lucy is happy again and I'm happy that I'm not a sky constellation any more."
It was meant to be a start of a light-hearted conversation and Levy was sure that Gajeel would tease her with a remark that she was too small to be a sky constellation anyway. However his reaction was quite different from what she had thought it would be.
At her words Gajeel stiffened. The whole evening had been a blur to him, but there had been one thing that hadn't left his mind the whole time. Levy had pushed him out of the way and because of that she had ended up as a sky constellation. That she had been so careless just to save him was making him angry, not at her, never at her, but at her decision.
"Why did you push me out of the way?" His voice was strained. "That was stupid of you."
Levy was stunned for a moment, but it took her only a moment to realize which situation he was referring to. When his words fully registered in her head hot anger shot through her.
"So it is okay for you to save me, but not for me to save you?" Levy asked heatedly.
"Damn right." The dragon slayer growled.
"That's not fair. What is the difference? You save me all the time and when I help you out, you get mad at me."
"Of course I get mad when you're acting so stupid. Why did you do it?" The iron mage fired back.
He just couldn't forget the fear that he had felt in the moment that she had been turned into a sky constellation. He had sworn to himself to never let her get hurt during his watch and this was the first time he had even been the reason she got harmed.
"Because I want to protect you. I can ask you the same thing. Why do you keep saving me?"
She wanted to make him realize her point, but with him being so stubborn it was hard to make him see reason. All she had cared about in that moment had been that the man who she loved had been in danger and she had acted just on instinct.
"Damn Shorty, I have to protect you because you're my m-." He stopped himself, before turning away from her. "It's different. I'm not worth saving. Don't ever do something like that again." With that he took a step away from her, ready to leave Levy behind in front of Fairy Hills.
The solid script mage felt a tear roll down her cheek.
"How can you say that?" It was a whisper, but when he stopped in his tracks she knew that he was listening. "I would do it again, given the chance and in any similar situation I would do anything to protect you. You're worth saving."
It took everything in her to make her next move, but she gathered all her courage before closing the few steps between them. Hugging him from behind, she whispered her next words for his ears only. "Please let me love you, Gajeel."
When he stiffened under her touch she felt more tears roll down her cheeks, but there was no turning back. She loved him with all her heart and she wanted to be able to love him openly. Today had once again shown her how deep her feelings for him were and she wanted him to finally know what he really meant to her. Hearing him say that he wasn't worth saving had been the last straw and all she wanted was for him to realize that it wasn't fair of him to save her, but tell her to leave him behind.
Slowly Gajeel turned around. Now that he was facing her, he gently leaned down a little and touched her chin to make her look at him. She was still beautiful, but he never wanted to make her cry again. She was the kindest soul he had ever met and she deserved better than him. However he couldn't stop himself from being selfish and wanting her. It was true that he loved her and she was his mate, but so far he had been holding back. He wanted her to be happy and he didn't know if he could do that, but her words had made his iron heart melt and there was no way he could lie to himself or her anymore.
"You really want me?" He asked hesitant while he gently wiped the tears from her cheeks.
Levy looked into his eyes and saw all his doubts and insecurities, a look that she was sure he had never let anyone see so openly. In that moment she fell even more in love with the man in front of her, who hid behind his tough facade, but had a heart of gold instead of iron.
"I mean what I said. I love you Gajeel and I want to be by your side, be it in life or in battle."
Gajeel had never been one for words, that was her specialty, for him actions spoke louder than words. Confirming it with one last look into her eyes, which shone with trust and love for him, he closed the gap between them and softly kissed her. In that moment he silently promised her and himself that he would always protect her, but would also let her love him.
A/N: Please review and tell me what you think :)